Spool axminster carpet loom



Jan. 17, 1950 i. BAESEENDALE SPOOL AXMINSTER CARPET LOOM 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 21, 1947 w WJP Pwfli mmwjimmw l. BASSINDALE SPOOL AXMINSTER CARPET LOOM Jan. 17, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 21, 1947 QM Q Jan. 17, 1950 1. BASSINDALE 2,494,983

SPOOL AXMINSTER CARPET LOOM Filed Feb. 21, 1947 Sheets-Sheet 5 I o G 35.5

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'of time and facilitating the smooth working i atented Jan. 17, 1950 SPOOL AXMINSTER CARPET LOOM Isaac B. Bassindale, Grasscroft, near Oldham, England Application February21, 1947, Serial No. 730,043

. In Great Britain February 16, 1946 4 Claims. (01.139-124) This invention of improvements in or relating to the selvedge mechanism of spool Axminster carpet looms refers more particularly to driving mechanism for imparting reciprocatory movement to the selvedge shuttles in the shuttle races 5 and is primarily intended for use with curved shuttles of large size.

With the use of selvedge shuttles as heretofore constructed, when removing a shuttle for replenishment of yarn, it is necessary to release a tension spring which holds the cam lever in contact with the cam to enable the, shuttle driver shaft to be rotated sufficiently to push the shuttles out of the shuttle races in a forward direction for replenishment of yarn. .Further, in the operation of a carpet loom employing shuttles as heretofore constructed, when the shuttle is passed through the loop of weftuntil the weft drops off the blunt end of the shuttle the weft becomes trapped between the shuttle and the rear shuttle driver. It is then necessary to bring the shuttle to rest and reversethedirection of rotation of the shuttle drivers to form a gap between the rear driver and the end of the shuttle through which the weft can slip to be caught by the selvedge cord.

The present invention-overcomes this disadvantage by providing the shuttle driver shaft with a clutch coupling whereby the driver shaft may be uncoupled from its driving means by simple movement of a handle without need for interfering with the aforesaid tension springs or disturbance of the cam lever, thus leaving the shuttle driver shaft free to be revolved at will.

The invention further provides means whereby the weft passing along the shuttle may automatically free itself without the necessity for stopping the shuttle and reversing the'direction of rotation of the drivers thus effecting a saving 40 the shuttles.

Shuttle driving mechanism according to the invention includes a" driver shaft, rotary shuttle drivers carried by said shaft, a rotary cam, a cam lever operable by said cam, means connected with said cam lever for driving said shaft, and a clutch coupling between said shaft and said shaft driving means, whereby said shaft may be simply uncoupled. from said shaft driving means and left free without interference with said cam lever.

V A practical embodiment of the invention will now be describedwith the aid of the accompanying drawings in which only so much of a tles 20, 2|.

2 carpet loom is shown as is necessary for a clear understanding of the invention. 7

Fig. l is a fragmentary side view showing selvedge shuttle driving mechanism according to the invention fitted to a carpet loom; Fig. 2 is. a sectional elevation looking in the direction of the arrow A in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a fragmentary plan, drawn to a larger scale, of the shuttle race; Fig. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the top weft needle at the finish of a shot with the upper shuttle entering the loop of weft and showing a portion of the carpet being woven; Fig. 5 is a similar perspective view looking at'the outer side of the shuttle race and with the shuttles in the same position as in Fig. 4, the removable segment of the shuttle race .casing being taken away to expose the interior of the shuttle races.

The same reference characters indicate corresponding parts in the several figures of the drawmgs.

Referring to the drawings, [0 indicates a vertical driving shaft journalledv in bearings ll, [2 on the loom frame 13, the vertical axis of the driving shaft i0 being co-linear with the vertical centre of the circular shuttle races 14. The driving shaft H] has keyed upon its upper part a bracket l5 formed with two radially projecting arms i6, i1 spaced apart, each of which carries a lever arm adjustable towards and away from the centre of the driving shaft l0 and respectively forming the front drivers for the upper and lower shuttles 29, 2|. One of said lever arms, i. e., the upper one, is indicated at 18; the lower arm, not shown, is identical.

For convenience in description reference will only be made to the drive for the upper shuttle 20 but it is to be understood that the drive for the lower shuttle 2| is similar in every respect.

The lever arm 18 is adjustably secured in a groove in the upper face of the arm l6 and is formed on its under side with a small projection 22 adapted to engagein a recess 20 in the upper surface of the shuttle 20 whereby to form a driving connection with said shuttle.

The bracket [5 is furnished with a short spindle 23 spaced in parallelism with the driving shaft 10 in lugs l5 projecting from the bracket i5. Mounted loosely on the spindle 23 in superposed relation are two levers 24, 25 which serve as rear drivers for the respective upper and lower shut- As before, only the upper driver will be described, the lower driver being identical.

The lever 24 is formed with three arms, the two outermost, and shorter, arms being adapted to engage an adjustable stop 25' on the boss of the bracket and an adjustable stop 21 on the front arm I 6. The central and longer arm of the lever 24 is furnished at its outer end with a freely mounted serrated wheel 28, which normally bears against the blunt end of the shuttle, see Fig. 5.

Freely mounted on the driving shaft I0 below the upper bearing H is a toothed pinion 29, the boss of which formsone clutch element of a coupling the other element 3| of which is splined on the driving shaft It) with freedom for sliding movement thereon in a verticaldirection.

The clutch element 3| is embraced by a yoke 32 having a lever handle 33 by means of which the clutch element 3| may be slid on the driving shaft I!) to engage with, or'disengage from, theclutch element 30 on the pinion 29.- A-compression spring 34- encircling the driving shaft I0 between the footstep bearing l2 and'th'e coupling clutch serves normally to hold the clutch in engagement-with the pinion 29.

The teeth of the pinion 29"on the driving shaft ID" are enmeshedwith the-teeth of a horizontal rack 34 adapted to betraversed horizontally in guides 35*on'the loom frame [3" by a cam lever 33'andconnecting'rod 31. The cam lever 36 is moved in the direction of' the front of the loom by a cam 38' and inthe'opposite direction by a tension spring, or as illustrated in Fig. 1, by two tension springs 39, each connected at one end to the cam lever3'6 and'at the opposite end to a plate 43 mounted at the'freeend of a rod 4| secured to theframe' I3.

On that side of the shuttle race casing adjacent to the'selvedge-edge S of the carpet C and between the races l4anda'vertical guide roller 42 moulded inthe frame l3'around which roller the selvedge cord SCpasses on its way from the shuttle to the selvedge thereis slidably mounted a two-armed traverse bar 43 which is traversed backwards and forwardsbyalever 44 operated presses against the curbed block 49 to push the traverse bar 43 forward to cover the gap 45 in the upper shuttle race. When the lever 44 is rocked in the reverse direction, it presses against the pin 50 to return the lever 43 to its initial position.

The shuttleraces l4 arecircular in plan and the wall of the race member remote from the selvedge edge of the carpet is formed with a removable segment I4 Fig. 3, to facilitate placing of the-shuttles in the respective upper and lower races. The removable segment I4 may beprovided with apertures, registering with the upper and lower races, or may be hingedly connected to the race-member at one side as indicated at 52,,Fig. 3, and at its oposite side secured by a catch indicated at 53, Fig. 3, or other easily removable means. The purpose of this formation will be explained later in the description.

The operation of tl'xemechanismis as follows:

Assuming the shuttles 20, 21- to be in their extreme rearmost working. position, shots of weft are inserteda'cross the loom by the needles N, the ends ofwhich come=to rest in the shuttle races, the gap 45 in the upper shuttle race l4 being opened byreasonof the traverse bar 43 being moved away. The' pinion 2-9 being clutched to the driving shaft-l0, the traversing'movement of the rack 34 brought about by the return movementof the camlever 36, under the influence of the tensionv sprin'gs 39, rotates the pinion 29-and shaftlo whereupon'the rear drivers push the shuttles a shor-t'distan'ce in a forward direcby a cam on the auxiliary tappet shaft of the loom.

Th'e shorterarm 43 of the traverse bar 43 is form'edwith an-inclined face 43 adapted, when thetraverse bar 43 is moved forward; to cover the'gap in the top shuttle race, through which the upper needle N passes, priorto the-shuttles moving forward.

The selvedge cord SC is raised to a higher plane by the incli'ned-face-43 of'the traverse bar 43; thereby preventing it from'becoming trapped betweenthe shuttle and the race.

The same conditions applywhen the shuttles are moved to their rear position, the selvedge cord running up the inclined face'of the traverse bar 43 on to the to oftheshuttle race, after which the traverse bar 43 is withdrawn to allow the passage of the needle N.

The horizontaland longer arm 43 of the traversebar 43 is slidably mounted at the end remote from the vertical arm 43 m a guide bracket 46 secured to the loomfra'me, the end of the horizontal arm 43 adjacent t'o-the vertical arm 43 being slidably supported on a grooved roller 4! journalled on a pin- 48 projectingfro'm the upper shuttle race.

The horizontal arm 43 is furnished aboutmidway of its length with'a block 49 having a curved face, and with a pin 50* in sp'aced relation with the block 49;

The cam-operated lever 44' is oscillatably mounted on a stud 5] carried by the loom frame and its upper part project's between the block 49 and the pin 50' on the'horizontal arm' 43, whereby, when the lever 44 is rocked forwardly, it

tion'to cause the-taperedends of the shuttles to insert their points'thro'ughthe. loops in the weft in the needles N. Fig. 4 shows the upper shuttle about to perform this operation. The needles are then withdrawn leaving the loops of weft around the pointed ends of the shuttles. The shuttles arethen moved forward to their'extreme forward position.

As the shuttlesmoveforward; theloops of weft slide smoothly over the rounded surfaces of the curved shuttles, the weft passing below each front driver througha slight gap between the projection-22 on the/lower side of' the driver arm l8and the recess 20 m the respective shuttle,- the distance betweenithe frontandrear drivers being such' that, when: the rear drivers bear against the adjacentends. of the shuttles, the projections 22 on the front drivers are each moved slightlyaway from th'eirl abutment against the wallet therecess 20 in the respective shuttle whereby to producethe aforesaid gap.

In the continued forward movement of the shuttles the loop ofr weft on each shuttle slips over the blunt rear end ofthe shuttlexthe weft catching'in a tooth or the serrated wheel- 28 and turning the wheel 28 freeing itself from the shuttle to-be caught by the selvedge cord SC along which it slides when beaten-up-to the fell of the fabric.

.As the shuttles are moved forward through the loops of weft, the traverse bar 43 with inclined face. 43 also moves forward to close the needle gap 45 in the top shuttle race, thereby raising the shuttle cord SC to prevent its being trapped. When the shuttles reach the-extreme forward" position, the" traverse bar 43- is withdrawn.

When all the shots'ofweft are-beaten up toiform thefabric, the shuttles are returned to their rear positionand when approximately mid-way in their traverse the traverse bar 43 is again moved forward to raise the upper cord SC on to the top of the upper shuttle race.

When the selvedge cords in the shuttles are exhausted the shuttles may be replenished without removing them from the respective races. In order to accomplish this operation, the coupling is declutched from the pinion 29 and the shuttles are pushed around the races by hand until they register with the apertures in the outer wall of the race member, when new cops may be inserted in the respective cop compartments of the shuttles.

Alternatively, if the removable segment of the race member be of the hinged type previously described, said hinged segment may be unfastened and swung back to afford access to the shuttles to enable the shuttles to be removed from the races to facilitate the replenishment of yarn.

Owing to the fact that the weft loops are selfreleasing, thus obviating the necessity for stoppage of movement of the shuttles to release the said weft loops the motion is enabled to work smoothly instead of time being wasted to stop and reverse, thus minimising wear and tear.

What is claimed is:

1. Mechanism for driving the selvedge shuttles of a spool Axminster carpet loom incorporating upper and lower shuttle races in which said shuttles are movable, including a driver shaft, rotary shuttle drivers carried by said shaft, a rotary cam, a cam lever operable by said cam, means connected with said cam lever for driving said shaft, and a clutch coupling between said shaft and said shaft driving means whereby said shaft may be simply uncoupled from said driving means and left free without interference with said cam lever.

2. Shuttle driving mechanism as claimed in claim 1, including means for enabling an exhausted shuttle to be replenished without removal from the respective shuttle race.

3. Shuttle driving mechanism as claimed in claim 1, in which the driver shaft is vertical and mounted in an upper bearing, said mechanism including a bracket keyed on said shaft and having a boss, adjustable stops on said boss, said 6 bracket being formed with two radially projecting arms spaced apart, a lever arm being carried by each projecting arm, each of said lever arms being adjustable towards or away from the axis of said shaft, said lever arms respectively forming the front drivers for the upper and lower shuttles, adjustable stops on said front drivers, a short Spindle journalled. in said bracket in parallelism with said shaft, two levers mounted loosely in superposed relation on said spindle and serving as rear drivers for the upper and lower shuttles, each of said last mentioned levers being formed with three arms, the two outermost arms of said last mentioned levers being adapted to engage the stops on said boss and the stops on the front driver arms, a serrated wheel normally bearing against the blunt end of the respective shuttle and carried by the central arm of each respective three-armed lever, a toothed pinion freely mounted on the driver shaft below said upper bearing, and forming one clutch element of a coupling, a co-operative coupling element splined to said shaft with freedom for sliding movement along said shaft, and means for engaging and disengaging said coupling elements.

4. Shuttle driving mechanism as claimed in claim 1 in which the loom frame is furnished with guides, and the driver shaft is provided with a toothed pinion, said mechanism including a horizontal rack enmeshed with said pinion and adapted to be traversed horizontally in said guides by the cam lever alternately towards and away from the front of the loom, and at least one tension spring connected to said cam lever and to the loom frame for moving the cam lever in the direction away from the front of the loom.

I. B. BASSINDALE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 631,233 Southwell Aug. 15, 1899 1,362,625 Hughes Dec. 21, 1920 1,946,427 Lambo Feb. 6, 1934 

